“I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.”
He said the two countries had met in Washington for the first time in 34 years earlier in the week, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio present.
“On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,” he said.
Trump said he had directed senior US officials to work toward a lasting agreement.
“I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin' Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE.”
In a follow-up post, Trump said he "will be inviting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House."
"Today they're going to be having a ceasefire, and that'll include Hezbollah," he later told reporters at the White House.
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that the resistance group “was informed today by the Iranian ambassador in Beirut that Iranian efforts have resulted in imposing a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon,” adding that “the American side has pledged to inform the Israeli prime minister of this decision, as well as the Lebanese president.”
Speaking to Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV, Fadlallah added that “Iranian officials will monitor whether the US fulfills its commitments, and the resumption of Iranian negotiations with the United States depends on the implementation of this obligation.”
He stressed that Hezbollah’s commitment to a ceasefire is “tied to the extent of the enemy’s adherence to stopping all forms of combat operations."
Hezbollah said in a statement that any truce must apply "across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.”
The Lebanese resistance group said that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold.”
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, citing sources, reported that Donald Trump forced Israel into a ceasefire in Lebanon. It adds that Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a request by security cabinet members to vote on the truce.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon. “We have an opportunity to make a historic peace agreement with Lebanon,” he said in a video message.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Tuesday to begin direct talks following a meeting between their ambassadors to the United States held in Washington.
Lebanon has insisted on a ceasefire to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah before engaging in more talks.
Hours after Tehran and Washington announced a two-week ceasefire on 8 April—said by Iran and mediator Pakistan to extend to Lebanon—Prime Minister Nawaf Salam insisted that no one can negotiate on behalf of the Lebanese state, even as Israel continues its military campaign.
Shortly after, Israel launched more than 100 strikes across Lebanon, including in densely populated residential and commercial areas of central Beirut, killing at least 357 people in a single day, including 33 children and wounding over 1,200, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israel has killed more than 2,200 people, including at least 172 children and 91 healthcare workers. Almost 7,000 were wounded in the space of just six weeks. Israel’s airstrikes have killed and wounded civilians in their homes, at work, and even while sheltering at makeshift displacement camps.
About 1,000 Israeli airstrikes have hit Lebanon since early March, according to the Institute for the Study of War, displacing nearly a fifth of the population, the UN said.
The Israeli occupation army military is not planning, however, to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon during the ceasefire, an Israeli security official told Reuters.
Israeli forces expanded their invasion of southern Lebanon since 2 March and have since destroyed Lebanese villages in the area, saying their aim is to create a "buffer zone."
On Thursday, the Israeli occupation army again announced a forced displacement of the entire area of southern Lebanon up to the Zahrani River, around 40 km north of the border.
Israeli warplanes carried out more than 50 airstrikes on southern Lebanon over the past two hours, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. At least 16 people have been killed in the attacks on Thursday.
Israel has repeatedly violated previous ceasefires either in Lebanon on Gaza.
Even before the current war, it has continued strikes on Lebanon, killing around 500 people before in violation of a November 2024 ceasefire.
The announcement of the ceasefire comes as hopes of a deal between the US and Iran have been growing.
A security source told Reuters that a Pakistani mediator had made a breakthrough on "sticky issues", although Tehran said the fate of its nuclear program had not been resolved.
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